movie and actor lists and thoughts…Scroll for lists!

cinematographers black and white

Do we dream in color? Or in black and white? Orson Wells once said that black and white was the actor’s friend. I think he was right, especially when you look at how Ford turns Wayne’s image into something of mythic proportions with “Stagecoach” (1939), or how film noir uses shadows to suggest its characters’ state of mind. Whatever the aesthetic reasons, black and white films should be celebrated for the worlds that the artists create. So, with these thoughts in mind, I give you “The Twenty Greatest Cinematographers in Black and White Films”.

In no particular order…

1.”Stagecoach” (1939) Bert Glennon’s filming of Monument Valley helped turn the Western into an art form.

2.”Raging Bull” (1980) Michael Chapman’s glistening black and white cinematography contrasts with the ugliness of the main character.